China files corruption charges against former defense ministers

Chinese leaders on Thursday accused two former defense ministers of accepting huge bribes and other corrupt acts that undermined the country's military promotions and arms production complex.

Two statements from the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo, a council of 24 senior officials, laid out multiple accusations of crime and insubordination against the general. Li Shangfudefense minister for much of the last year, and Gen. Wei Fengheminister from 2018 to 2023. These statements suggest more heads could roll as part of the expanded investigations.

Speculation has been growing since last year that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has opened investigations into corruption and military misconduct, after senior officers of the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force were abruptly dismissed. replaced or disappeared. The dismissal of General Lis as defense minister in October, after he had disappeared from the public eye for months, added weight to the rumors. But only now have Chinese leaders revealed the range of allegations involved in the investigations.

THE announcement regarding General Li said he was found guilty of accepting bribes in exchange for abuse of power, including making corrupt personnel decisions, and that he had bribed others and attempted to obstruct the investigation concerning him. THE announcement regarding General Wei made similar accusations and said valuables and money were stolen from him.

Both men have been stripped of their military ranks and expelled from the Communist Party, and their cases have been passed to military prosecutors, meaning, almost inevitably, that they will both be tried, found guilty and given heavy sentences, or even the death penalty, if found guilty. the crimes are considered particularly serious. The statements also suggest their misdeeds amounted to a betrayal of Mr. Xi, who is chairman of the Central Military Commission and party chief.

Both generals were members of the commission. General Li betrayed the party's founding aspirations and principles, and his actions betrayed the trust of the party's Central Committee and the Central Military Commission, the party said. General Wei was further accused of a collapse of confidence in the party.

These announcements could prompt broader investigations that could, at least temporarily, slow the rapid pace of China's military modernization. The announcements indicated that investigators were following more leads and that General Li's corruption had seriously polluted the military equipment sector and companies. Before his appointment as defense minister, he had become a specialist in military equipment, a sector that has seen decades of increasing spending.

These announcements seem to indicate something very serious, Andrew ND Yang, a Chinese military expert who previously served in Taiwan's Defense Ministry, said in a telephone interview.

Mr. Yang said the generals' apparent resistance to investigators and claims that they had lost confidence in the party would be particularly troubling to Mr. Xi, because the details could indicate broader discontent or insubordination in the party's top brass. the People's Liberation Army.

“I think we can expect in-depth investigations into the military, not only in Rocket Force, but also in other sectors,” Mr. Yang said, referring to China's military forces.

Mr. Xi underscored his determination to root out misconduct and perceived disloyalty within the Chinese military earlier this month, when he met with commanders in Yanan, an officially sacred region in northwest China where Mao Zedong gathered his forces during the revolution and war against Japan.

Mr. Xi held a similar political work conference for the military in 2014, as he worked to root out corruption that had taken hold in previous decades, including in the buying and selling of promotions.

But apparently problems persist, and on his latest trip, Mr. Xi invoked the spirit of Mao's army as a source of inspiration and warning.

Senior officers across the military should keep in mind the founding aspirations and lead the way in carrying forward the Yanan spirit, Xi said, according to the official. summary of the three-day meeting. Ensure that the people's army always maintains its true nature and mission and always dares to fight and win.

The armed forces are essential to Mr Xi's political power and his vision of China as a resurgent world power.

Domestically, the People's Liberation Army is a pillar of dominance by the Communist Party, which has sworn absolute loyalty to Mr. Xi. Externally, the military is key to Mr. Xi's efforts to project influence and reduce U.S. dominance in the Asia-Pacific region. It is also crucial to China's efforts to absorb Taiwan, the democratic island about 100 miles off the mainland coast that Beijing claims as its territory.

But the fall of the two former defense ministers indicates that Mr. Xi's ability to choose and promote good commanders could be called into question within the People's Liberation Army, said Mr. Yang, the expert Taiwanese military.

An engineer, General Li, 66 years old, climbed the ladder in rockets, weapons development and China's manned space program. He was the first deputy commander of the Strategic Support Force, which Mr. Xi created in late 2015 as part of a reorganization of the Chinese military. In April, Mr. Xi disbanded the force into three separate units.

General Wei, 70 years old, was the first commander The Rocket Force, which houses most of China's nuclear weapons as well as thousands of conventional missiles, was founded by Mr. Xi in late 2015, modernizing the old missile branch, the Second Artillery Corps.

They were both promoted by him, so how can he say he picks the right people for the right positions? » said Mr. Yang. Still, Mr. Yang said he did not expect a major disruption to China's plans to build ever more military ships, planes and missiles.

Xi Jinping's goal is to create the most effective military, Yang said. That will not change.